FBI agent shot by booby-trapped wheelchair in Oregon home

October 2, 2018

Authorities said Gregory Rodvelt, a former southern Oregon property owner, created the makeshift weapons. He was charged with assault on a federal officer.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A former southern Oregon property owner has been charged with assault on a federal officer after authorities say an FBI agent sent to the property was shot from a booby-trapped wheelchair.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that authorities responded to the home in Williams on Sept. 7 at the request of a lawyer tasked with selling the property.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Medford says officers found multiple traps and that the agent was wounded in the leg when he entered the home.

Authorities say the makeshift weapons were created by Gregory Rodvelt, who was forced to forfeit his property as part of an elder abuse case.

The Mail Tribune reports Rodvelt is in Arizona’s Maricopa County Jail, where he’s in the midst of an assault trial in a separate case. Court records show he has refused a court-appointed defense lawyer.